After decades mourning their lost fortune and homeland, exiled king Thorin Oakenshield and his hearty band have ousted the dragon Smaug and reclaimed their birthright, and more importantly swept aside the vast set up of the previous two films to give director Peter Jackson the canvas he needs to make with the good stuff for his last outing in Middle-earth. “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” delivers on that promise and then some with a series of cascading action beats that mount tension on tension and yet rarely enforce battle fatigue on the audience.